Shockwave walks with slow, deliberate steps toward the end of the bridge platform, where Megatron and Starscream stand before him. The gladiator is turned away, still facing the broken front window, until Shockwave finally stops, remaining silent. Starscream seems to ignore him entirely, instead doing something with the main console, having finally been repaired.
Megatron: ... Yes?
Shockwave: I require your... assistance.
Megatron: Not the ‘unwilling test subject’ kind of assistance, is it?
Shockwave: No. I have never subjected you to anything you did not agree to...
Megatron: Then I might have been uninformed about what I was agreeing to.
Some of the vehicons working idly in the room look over upon hearing this exchange, but a single glance from Megatron silences their curiosity. As he and the scientist walk out of the room, however, Starscream turns to look at them for only a moment, muttering something under his breath about preferential treatment.
Megatron and Shockwave walk silently through the halls of the Nemesis, even as some of these halls still remain in disrepair. They step into an elevator, and as the doors close, Shockwave looks over toward Megatron again.
Shockwave: In truth, I am only asking for your assistance because I have somewhat lost the capability to make any... logical judgement regarding Soundwave.
Megatron: Sometimes it is impossible to be impartial, and you are still the most capable of helping him.
Shockwave: It is not impartiality that concerns me. I have caused him enough pain as it is.
The doors open, and the two go silent once more. As they reach the lab, however, Megatron stares at Soundwave, who once again sits on a table, looking with a blank stare into nothing.
Megatron: How am I supposed to help Soundwave?
Shockwave: ... This is only a request, but I would like to patch you into his mind.
Megatron: No.
Shockwave freezes momentarily and looks toward Megatron, having not expected that response, or at least not that quickly.
Megatron: The cortical psychic patch is not to be trifled with, and it is too antagonistic for me to use it on someone I do not hate.
Shockwave: Did you not use it on Starscream?
Megatron: My reasoning still stands.
The room is silent for a few moments, until Megatron looks back at Shockwave.
Megatron: ... But why are you asking this of me?
Shockwave: Soundwave shows no conscious acknowledgement of any of his surroundings, but I have no reason to believe there is any neurological factor. Thus, as of now, his injuries are purely psychological, and in this state, the only way to address them is on his own domain.
Megatron: Then why me?
Shockwave looks at Soundwave for a few long, silent moments.
Shockwave: You know him better than I do. And... it would not be logical for him to accept help from the person who put him in this state to begin with.
Megatron: But you think it is logical to blame yourself for this?
Shockwave: ... I am clearly biased.
Megatron seems to let out a quiet sigh before responding.
Megatron: Fine.
Shockwave: ... Thank you.
The setup is fairly quick considering how recently the patch had been used before, and there are no other words spoken before it is used again. And following only a nod of acknowledgement, Shockwave activates it.
It takes a few moments before anything becomes clear, but soon Megatron finds himself standing on a metal platform, staring out into the night sky. Only, there is no other landscape to be found, and the sea of stars stretches endlessly before and below him. There is a ceiling, however, and as he looks back into the small room in which he seems to be standing, he finds Soundwave in one corner, sitting on the floor, seeming to place himself as far from the outside as possible, even going so far as to face slightly away from it and curl up slightly. As Megatron stares at him, however, he finally stares back. Considering the realm in which they exist, neither one necessarily needs to speak in order to make themselves understood.
Megatron: ... What are you doing?
Soundwave: What am I supposed to do? This is all there is.
Megatron looks out into the starry distance for a moment before looking back at Soundwave.
Megatron: You know this is your own created world, right?
Soundwave: Nothing in my mind is under my control anymore.
Megatron: ... What?
Soundwave: I didn’t invite you here. I didn’t create this.
Megatron: Maybe not consciously. Why do you choose to stay in here?
Soundwave: The endless nature of space is... troubling. There are no points of reference. No up or down, or beginning or end.
Megatron: ... This isn’t like you.
It is then that Soundwave looks up at him again, radiating some trace hint of shame.
Soundwave: ... I have always been safe within the confines of my own mind, but what are you supposed to do when you’re a prisoner there too?
Megatron stares silently at him, suddenly struck by the weight of his words.
Soundwave: I have no way of knowing what’s real. I have memories that aren’t mine, thoughts from other people...
Soundwave begins to tense up, seemingly trying to fight some kind of fear.
Soundwave: I had the most clarity when I was possessed by that person, when even my actions weren’t under my control.
Megatron steps over toward Soundwave, kneeling down beside him.
Megatron: She is gone now, as is the corruption. You’re back on the Nemesis.
Soundwave: Then why am I trapped here?
Megatron stares at him, and Soundwave merely looks back toward the wall, trying to avoid placing the starry expanse anywhere within his vision.
This was going to take time.